Automotive vehicles, such as pickup trucks, often have a tailgate attached to the vehicle body to allow access to a cargo bed area. When opened, a pair of cables are commonly used to retain the tailgate in an open position. The tailgate in the open position is typically held in approximate horizontal position. In the horizontal position, however, it can be difficult to load or unload large or heavy objects from the cargo bed area due to the high clearance height of the open tailgate.
Other difficulties loading large and heavy objects can arise from the use of ramps used to transport the object to the height of the tailgate and cargo bed area. When balancing ramps on the edge of a tailgate, a variety of difficulties can arise. Often, the distance between the edge of the tailgate and the position where the ramp is placed on the ground is great enough to cause excessive deflection in the ramp as objects are moved across it towards the cargo bed. In addition, when the object reaches the edge of the tailgate, overlap between the edge of the ramp and the edge of the tailgate can result in the ramp being "kicked up" when the object passes the edge of the tailgate. This is also highly undesirable. Finally, when unloading objects from the cargo bay area, such objects can potentially catch the edge of the ramp that extends past the edge of the tailgate and thereby knock the ramp out of position. All of the above situations can lead to difficulty loading and unloading large and heavy objects.
It is known that the aforementioned difficulties may be reduced by allowing the tailgate to be positioned in a secondary, non-horizontal position wherein the tailgate itself acts partially or completely as a ramp. Commonly, however, such a secondary position has been accomplished by simply detaching the cable supports from the truck bed. Detaching the cable supports, however, can produce its own set of problems. Contact between the tailgate and the rear bumper of the car can cause damage to the tailgate appearance especially when heavy forces are applied to the tailgate. In addition, improper reattachment of the support cables can pose a hazard to the truck operator during future use. Finally, permanent attachment of the cables can potentially allow a more sturdy rugged design.
It would, therefore, be highly desirable to have a multi-position tailgate assembly that provided the known loading and unloading functionality of such an angled tailgate but that did not require the detachment of the cables. In addition, it would be highly desirable to have a multi-position tailgate assembly that minimized potential damage to the tailgate, could be moved between positions with relative ease, and was sturdy and robust.